Super Bowl ads: 5 best, 5 worst
Overall, a somewhat misogynistic and disappointing run of Super Bowl ads, though there were some high points. I was totally jazzed to see “Star Trek” after last year’s Super Bowl ad; none of the movie ads moved me as much this year. The theme seemed to be “guys in their underwear,” as no fewer than three ads went with that for comedic value. And Tim Tebow’s much-debated issue ad was soft-played in such a way that it would be hard to take offense at it. You can see this year’s ads for yourself at CBS Sports and YouTube.
The good:
1. Snickers
Betty White playing football is funny stuff. I thought this was the most memorable spot.
2. The Late Show
The shocking appearance of Jay Leno in this 15-second spot promoting the Late Show will definitely generate some talk. Too bad Conan couldn’t be there, too.
3. Hyundai
Hyundai hyped the certainty of its 10-year warranty with a spoof on Brett Favre’s tendency to retire and unretire, showing him in 2020 still not sure of whether to return to play again, or not.
4. HomeAway.com
The home-rental site brought back Clark Griswold in a new vacation, a hotel stay gone wrong.
5. McDonalds
An update of the classic Michael Jordan-Larry Bird commercial featuring LeBron James and Dwight Howard was clever and fun. Doesn’t surpass the original, but a nice homage.
The bad:
1. Dodge Charger
Being a man is terrible, and women are the reason, according to Dodge. But hey, buy a Dodge Charger, OK? Thanks.
2. FloTV
With that name, it seems like the product should be endless “Alice” reruns. This portable TV had multiple ads during the game; the one I disliked had Jim Nantz mocking a guy shopping with his girlfriend rather than watching the Super Bowl.
3. E*Trade
The talking baby thing was played out about 20 years ago, and yet I still have to watch these commercials.
4. Dr Pepper
Little people dressed as KISS sing with the actual band. This doesn’t make me want to drink Dr Pepper.
5. GoDaddy.com
The once-titillating ads have ceased being anything original. There will be a tease of nudity, then a push to the Web site.
What did you like best and worst of the Super Bowl ads?
- Matt Price
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
The Betty White Snickers commercial with Abe Vigoda at the end was the best, no question. I was laughing so hard, that I missed the Tim Tebow ad.
Next for me was the Letterman ad with Oprah and Jay Leno, and then the ‘85 Bears doing the Super Bowl Shuffle spoof. Rolling out Jim McMahon on a hover-round was great.
The Betty White/Abe Vigoda one was first.
Second was the little kid saying “Stay away from my Doritos, Stay away from my Mom” or something like that. Reminded me of my kids when they were pre-teens.
Third, the horse and the bull.
Missed the Tim Tebow one altogether, which was fine with me.
The McDonald’s one was my favorite. Love the end where Lebron and Howard say, “Who was that”, “I don’t know, but I think he ate our lunch”. Funny stuff.
If this list wasn’t made up entirely by a woman, then it was certainly supervised by one. What kind of dude doesn’t like the KISS midgets, hot chicks and Chargers. Also what is so entertaining about a 30 sec dialog with David Letterman, Oprah, and Jay Leno. Who cares if their competing late night show host. Lebron and Dwight Howard playing basketball over a big mac meal. Like those guys couldn’t get 30 of them catered in with one jesture. BAH!!
Totally agree with you on the Betty White commercial; it was great along with the Letterman and Brett Favre ads. Awesome. So was the Doritos commercial with the little kid and his mom’s suitor.
But you missed the boat on the Dodge Charger and Jim Nantz commercials, especially the Nantz one which I thought was among the best.
From an advertisin perspective, I’m quite surprised the Google ad isn’t in the top 5. It demonstrated the product, didn’t resort to cliches and avoided using celebrity endorsements. As if it were possible that someone out there doesn’t know what Google is or does, but if there were someone who was unfamiliar, they would have been well introduced and curiousity would have been piqued, IMHO.
Agreed on the Google ad. Although it’s apparently not original to the Super Bowl, most people saw it for the first time then, and I know it brought tears to a few eyes.
I wasn’t aware that it want original. Boo on reusing advertising. If you’re going to pay that much money to advertise for 30 seconds ($1.5 million, right?), come up with something new. It was the first time I saw it though.
Also – apologies for the earlier typos. On my phone, I can’t review my comment. 
Keith,
I’m not a woman, though I do respect them – something several of those Super Bowl ads didn’t do.
MarketingNerd,
The Google ad was very similar to something Google had done as a YouTube promo, I believe, but I have no problem with people who found it effective – I thought it was clever, myself.
James,
Thanks for the comment – I just didn’t like the Nantz and Charger commercials, I thought they were way too heavy handed. But I appreciate your sharing of your opinion!
- Matt
Thank you for calling out the Charger and FloTV commercials! The Charger ad managed to combine misogyny and the least appealing aspect of consumerism: being a man is terrible, women are the reason, so you deserve to console yourself with an unnecessarily large and expensive vehicle!
The Doritos ad with the revenge of the dog and one of those ridiculous shock collars. Hilarious.